A BIOMECHANICAL COMPARISON OF JUMPING TECHNIQUES IN THE VOLLEYBALL BLOCK AND SPIKE

Abstract

The present case study kinematically analysed the spike and the block movements of a single volleyball player. The aim was to verify the hypothesis that for a right handed player the spike approach and the cross-over step in blocking after a move to the left are similar in coordination, whereas moving to the right before blocking requires a different movement pattern. The spatial and temporal variables of the jumps and the joint angles of the lower limbs during the countermovement were analysed. The results showed a high repeatability of the collected data. The similarity between the spike and the block when moving to the left confirmed the hypothesis. These results from a single subject should be extended by further studies of more athletes of varying skill levels.